Boxer Imane Khelif’s presence at the Paris Olympics has sparked significant discussion and controversy, including criticism from certain tennis players. Furthermore, Andrey Rublev has voiced his opinion on one of the most contentious issues of this edition of the Paris Olympics.
Following the controversy surrounding the Algerian boxer’s participation and her brief 46-second match against Italian Angela Carini, which ended with Carini’s withdrawal, the Russian tennis player also strongly criticized the Olympic Games’ organizing committee for allowing the Algerian to compete, siding with Carini.
Rublev, believing that Khelif was a man who identified as a woman, deemed it unfair for her to compete against women and expressed his opposition through a social media post. However, in the past few hours, the 26-year-old Russian has reversed his stance, reevaluated the situation, and apologized for not initially verifying the accuracy of the news.
Journalist Ben Rothenberg shared his interview with Rublev, in which he inquired about the reasoning behind publishing and subsequently deleting the post.
Rublev responded with an apology, stating, “I apologize for not confirming the information and that is why I deleted the post. I chose to publish it because I wanted to express my opposition to violence against women, any form of violence. That was the intention of the post. It was not directed at anyone in particular; it was simply my stance against violence towards women. Then, I failed to verify – my mistake – all the information and news. Even the sports site I consulted – I don’t want to blame them, as the responsibility lies solely with me – I take responsibility for the mistake I made and for not verifying the information.”
Following his victory in Washington last night, I questioned Andrey Rublev about his post (and subsequent deletion) regarding the controversy in women’s boxing at the Olympics. Rublev acknowledged his errors, took responsibility, and offered his apologies. pic.
Photo from Andrey Rublev Instagram
